A covered property that meets one or more of the following conditions for the calendar year to be benchmarked may apply for an exemption from the benchmarking and data transparency requirements set forth in this article if:
A. The property did not have a certificate of occupancy or temporary certificate of occupancy from the Village or other applicable entity for the applicable full year; or
B. A demolition permit was issued for an applicable building located at a property during the prior calendar year; or
C. The property had an average physical occupancy rate of less than fifty percent (50%) over a given year; or
D. The benchmarking or data transparency information would disclose trade secrets as provided by applicable law; or
E. Buildings primarily used for manufacturing or other industrial purposes for which benchmarking results would not meaningfully reflect building energy use characteristics due to the intensive use of process energy. "Process energy" refers to energy used in the actual manufacturing, production, or processing of a good, commodity, or other material. (Ord. 23-18, 2-6-2023)